Page 66

“Valentina?” I whisper, daring not to breathe. My throat feels tight. She meets my eyes, tears brimming. The vow is shattered.She’s alive. Something darker stirs behind her gaze, but it’s stillher.

“I… I’m here,” she rasps, voice trembling. She lifts a hand, noticing faint horns near her temples, brushing them with a dazed fascination. “What happened to me?”

Emotion roars through me like a tempest. “You survived,” I choke out, placing a clawed hand gently on her cheek. “You found a path that changed you. But you’re alive, the vow is destroyed.”

She exhales a shaky laugh, tears mixing with sweat. “I didn’t want to die. I guess the Abyss heard my refusal.”

We share a moment of stunned awe. The monarchy’s vow has shattered, and she stands renewed, half-demon in a swirl of black runes. My illusions flutter around us, freed from centuries of forced suppression. We truly won.

Victory.

The battered dark elves watch from a distance, morale shattered. The robed sorcerers cower. A few scramble out of the courtyard, dragging their wounded. The monarchy’s grand designs lie in ruin. The demon thrall we freed earlier stands atop a broken pillar, glaring at them with newfound autonomy. This entire domain has collapsed, the monarchy routed.

Still panting, Valentina glances around, eyes flickering with inhuman brightness. “We… we did it.” Then her eyes narrow, as if sensing something deeper under the rubble. She half-turns, frowning at the quaking earth. “Do you feel that?”

I freeze, illusions swirling warily. A deep rumble vibrates beneath the courtyard, reminiscent of a sleeping beast stirred by all this arcane chaos. “Yes,” I mutter, scanning the cracks that laced the dais. “Something moves below. Possibly an older threat.”

Her new horn ridges glint in the torchlight. Fear churns in her expression, but she schools it quickly. “We can’t fight more tonight. We’re spent.”

I nod gravely. “Then we leave this place for now. The monarchy’s hold is shattered, the vow undone. Let them face whatever stirs beneath their temple. We have fought enough.”

She sags in relief, though tears still cling to her lashes. “Thank the stars. Let’s get out before that thing surfaces.”

With an unspoken accord, we stride from the dais, illusions coiling around me, her new demonic aura crackling. Soldiers shrink away, too demoralized to attempt pursuit. The robed elves huddle, some babbling prayers. The demon thrall leaps off its pillar, bounding into the darkness, presumably free to chart its own path. None stand to block us. A hush, broken only by the rumble from the depths, suffuses the courtyard.

We exit the temple’s shattered gates, stepping into the swirling storm outside. Rain begins to fall in cold sheets, plastering my hair to my scalp. Valentina stands under the open sky, shoulders trembling, black runes still swirling across her arms. She turns to me, eyes full of questions and raw emotion. “Malphas… it’s really gone?”

I place a hand against my chest, closing my eyes to sense the vow’s old presence. Where once it strangled every breath, now there is only a ghostly ache—no forced compulsion. My illusions respond with newfound ease, swirling gently at my horns. “It’s gone,” I murmur, voice unsteady. “I’m free. Thanks to you.”

Her lips part, relief and lingering fear tangling in her gaze. “And I’m… changed.” She raises a hand, studying the faint claws tipping her fingers. “I can feel it, an undercurrent of demonic power. Part of me is terrified.”

I step closer, carefully wrapping a wing around her as the rain intensifies. “You saved us both. We’ll figure out the rest together.”

She leans into my side, the new horns on her head brushing my collarbone. “I won’t lose myself, right?” Her voice wavers. “I won’t become some mindless beast?”

My heart pangs. “No. You’re still Valentina. You harnessed the Abyss without letting it kill you. That alone proves your will is strong enough to remain who you are.”

Lightning flashes overhead, briefly revealing the courtyard behind us—a ruin of toppled columns, battered soldiers, swirling shadows that hint at whateverlurks beneaththe earth. A hush falls, a lull in the storm’s roar. “We should go,” I say softly. “Before we unearth whatever stirs.”

She nods, wiping rain from her cheeks. “Yes. I want to see the dawn somewhere else… somewhere free.”

We share a moment of quiet understanding. Finallly, I have no vow tether, no monarchy brand forcing illusions from me. She, newly transformed, stands half-demon and half-human—a living testament that prophecy can be warped. And though something darker seethes beneath the ground, a future threat, we have tonight to claim our victory.

We set off into the storm-lashed night, picking our way over debris, ignoring the scattered moans of soldiers behind us. The monarchy is routed for now. If they muster another offense, they’ll find a new demon in me, one unbound from their shackles, and a mortal-turned-demon woman whose power dwarfs their wards. We vanish into the darkness, illusions trailing from my horns, her black runes gleaming whenever lightning carves the sky.

Hours later, the storm breaks, leaving the air crisp and cold. We’ve trekked far from the monarchy’s temple, forging a path across uneven terrain. My entire body aches with the toll of battle, each step a test of will. Valentina is similarly exhausted, but I see a strange glow in her eyes—the new demonic energycoursing under her skin. It’s kept her upright, even as her mortal flesh cries for rest.

At last, we find a shallow cave beneath a rocky overhang, partially hidden by dense foliage. The ground is damp, but it’s enough to shield us from the wind. I sigh, illusions flickering away. “We’ll rest here,” I say, voice raw. “At dawn, we decide our next move.”

She nods, removing the remains of her coat. The rain plastered her hair to her face, revealing the slight horns near her temples. They’re no longer the ephemeral runes from before; they look solid and permanent, curving gracefully back, not as large as mine but unmistakably demonic. She catches me staring, a self-conscious flush creeping over her cheeks. “They’re not that hideous, are they?”

I manage a soft chuckle, though my ribs sting. “I don’t find them hideous, no. They suit you—fierce, determined.”

Her lips twitch in a small, weary smile. “You’re just saying that.” But there’s relief in her eyes. She shakes out her hair, trying to come to terms with her new state.

Exhaustion claims us, so we collapse onto the cave’s rocky floor. I scrounge what remains of our supplies—a soggy pouch of dried meat, a ragged blanket. Valentina wraps herself in the blanket, arms trembling from the chill. I let my wings drape around me, horns dipping in bone-deep fatigue. Silence stretches between us, broken only by the distant drip of water from the cave’s mouth.

Eventually, she shifts closer, placing a tentative hand on my chest. “Does it hurt?” she asks, glancing at the scorch mark from the elf lord’s lightning spear.